Trump orders federal government to stop using Anthropic in dispute between AI firm and Pentagon

President Trump is ordering all government agencies to stop using artificial intelligence from Anthropic after the company disputed the Pentagon’s use of the technology.

Mr. Trump, writing on social media Friday, said the company made a “disastrous mistake” by pushing back on the Department of Defense.

“Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology,” Mr. Trump wrote. “We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”

He said there will be a six-month phase-out for agencies like the Defense Department, which he renamed as the Department of War.

Anthropic, a leading AI company that makes the popular Claude platform, fought the Pentagon’s push for unrestricted use of its technology.

The company worried about the government’s use of the technology for mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.

The clash between the Pentagon and Anthropic began after reports that U.S. forces used Claude in the operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas last month.

Anthropic says its usage guidelines prohibit Claude from being used to facilitate violence, develop weapons or conduct surveillance.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given the Anthropic CEO until Friday to decide whether to open up Claude to all lawful military uses or risk losing the company’s contracts with the government.

CEO Dario Amodei said they could not “in good conscience” acquiesce to demands from Mr. Hegseth.

“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider,” Mr. Amodei said on Thursday as the standoff deepened.

Mr. Trump decided Friday to pull the plug on the $200 million defense contract and threatened to use the full weight of the government against Anthropic.

“Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase-out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” Mr. Trump wrote. “WE will decide the fate of our Country — NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about.”

Sen. Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said Mr. Trump’s threats are out of line. He also questioned the motives behind the administration’s decision.

“The president’s directive to halt the use of a leading American AI company across the federal government, combined with inflammatory rhetoric attacking that company, raises serious concerns about whether national security decisions are being driven by careful analysis or political considerations,” Mr. Warner said.

He said efforts to disparage the company, “potentially as the pretext to steer contracts to a preferred vendor,” posed an “enormous risk” to U.S. defense readiness and would make it harder to get private sector partners to work with the government.

— Ben Wolfgang contributed to this report.